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Adam Dunn
Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979, in Houston, Texas), is a Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Washington Nationals. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. A former standout quarterback at New Caney (Texas) High School, Dunn signed with the University of Texas however, Dunn quit football and concentrated on baseball. The Cincinnati Reds drafted Dunn in the second round of the 1998 amateur draft while he was still an active collegian, and he played 1,087 games with the Reds over eight seasons before being traded to the Diamondbacks. Professional career Cincinnati Reds He was elected to the National League All-Star team. In that game, Dunn hit a ball to center field that was a few feet from being a game ending home run (the game famously ended in a tie). He also walked in his only other plate appearance. At six feet, six inches (198 cm) in height and weighing 275 pounds, Dunn, who is one of the National League's most feared sluggers, invites frequent comparisons to Mark McGwire. His power and size has earned him the nickname "Big Country" in baseball. Adam Dunn's most productive season came in , when he posted career highs in batting average (.266), home runs (46), runs (105), hits (151), on base percentage (.388), slugging average (.569), and OPS (.957). He also held the single-season strikeout record (195) before Ryan Howard broke it on September 27, 2007. Dunn made his Major League debut on July 20, 2001 and set a National League rookie record for the most home runs in a month by hitting 12 in August. On September 30, 2004, Dunn once again got his name in Major League Baseball's record book albeit not in the manner he wished. That day, Dunn struck out three times against Chicago Cubs right-hander Mark Prior, raising his season total to 191 and surpassing Bobby Bonds' single season strikeout record of 189, set in 1970. He finished the season with 195 strikeouts. Later, Ryan Howard struck out 199 times in the 2007 season. Dunn's 46 longballs in 2004 were the fourth most in Cincinnati Reds history. That year, he joined Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan as the only Reds players to score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs, and draw 100 walks in a single season. Dunn repeated the feat the following season making him the only player in Reds history to do it more than once. On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Dunn was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, he struck out 34.3%, 30.9%, and 34.6% of the time, respectively. In each season, his was the highest strikeout percentage in Major League Baseball. *Baseball Leaderboard 2004 seasonfangraphs.com *Baseball Leaderboard 2005 seasonfangraphs.com *Baseball Leaderboard 2006 seasonfangraphs.com Despite the high strikeout total, Dunn often exhibits good plate discipline. He is among the major league leaders every season in number of pitches per at-bat, an indication that he generally knows when to swing and when not to. Although his career batting average is only .246, he has compiled a .384 on-base percentage while striking out about ten times for every six walks and averages more than one strikeout per game. He always is one of the top receivers in base on balls. However, his main weakness continues to be his tendency to strike out. Many point out that his on-base percentage is actually higher than several hitters with batting averages over .300 each year. Adam Dunn has the fifth-lowest career at bats per home run average in Major-League history. His 13.96 ratio (about one home run every 14 times he comes to bat) is eclipsed only by Mark McGwire (10.61), Babe Ruth (11.76), Barry Bonds (12.90), and Jim Thome (13.68). Stretching behind Dunn are such Hall-of-Famers as Ralph Kiner, Harmon Killebrew, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Mike Schmidt, in that order. On October 31, 2007, Dunn's $13 million dollar option was picked up by the Reds, making him the highest-paid player on the team. On June 19, 2008, Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi cited Dunn's lack of passion for baseball as a deterrent for acquiring the outfielder during a Toronto call-in radio show. Ricciardi later publicly apologized for his statements but has yet to speak to Dunn personally about his comments. On June 29, 2008, Dunn won the Ohio Cup MVP when he went 6-for-20 in the six-game series, with 5 home runs and 10 RBI. Arizona Diamondbacks On August 11, 2008, Dunn was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Dallas Buck and two other players to be named later.Dunn deal: D-backs acquire slugger Position changes In December 2005, Reds manager Jerry Narron informed the press that, due to the trade of popular first baseman Sean Casey to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-handed pitcher Dave Williams, Adam Dunn would be moving to first base for the 2006 season. However, with the acquisition of free agent first baseman Scott Hatteberg (who played for the Oakland Athletics in 2005) during spring training and the March 20 trade of outfielder Wily Mo Peña to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo, the plan to convert Dunn was scrapped (Dunn had mentioned that he would rather not play 1B also) and, to date, he has only played 108 games there. Personal Dunn is married to Rachel Brown of Kentucky, and the couple have a young son, Brady, who is one year old. Statistics Major League }} See also * Top 500 home run hitters of all time References External links * * [http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Dunn/Dunn_bio.html JockBio.com profile] Category:National League All-Stars Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Washington Nationals players Category:Arizona Diamondbacks players Category:Major league left fielders Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Irish-Americans Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:Major league players from Texas Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Left Fielders Category:First Basemen Category:Players